So.. 2020 Q4 - Roadmap
Hey folks! How's everything? Hope you enjoy your new Tortle models ^^
I wanted to take a little step back and tell you a about my plans for the future.
First things first, the October billing cycle will be paused, and the Tortles will stay available in the Dropbox for another month, for several reasons.
Let's face it, I won't be able to deliver all the Underdark monsters by the beginning of October. I haven't even started working on the Tortle Bard ^^
I would much rather have everything done and delivered (including hollowed and presupported chitubox files) right after your monthly payments, and make one single post will all the download links in one go instead of delivering the models throughout the month.
Also, if I start delivering the Underdark monsters I have made by then (one, maybe two if I'm lucky), it means the Tortles will need to be removed from the Dropbox.
I still haven't properly promoted them. I'd much rather have all five of them ready, with proper renders, etc. to start promoting them, which I won't be able to do if they're not available in my Patreon Dropbox anymore.
I'm very proud of these Tortles and I think they deserve a proper promotion cycle running through one entire month, much like the Gnolls. I would be a waste to remove them from the Dropbox that quickly.
I know it may be a bit disappointing to some of you, but I really need to start getting ahead of my own production schedule. I'm tired of being constantly late, and I will not burn myself out trying to deliver rushed out, subpar models on time, just because I don't want to sacrifice a billing cycle.
Screw billing cycles ^^! In my book, quality always comes first, and if I need to pause my billing cycles for it, then so be it!
First, I need to finish my set of Tortles. The Underdark monsters won't be there until November.
The other reason is I may be about to relocate pretty soon. Moving out is always time-consuming, and I need to take my mind away from my Patreon monthly production for a little time, so I can focus on this fully. I'm visiting the new place on Monday :)
There are other things for which I need to make time. My Patreon community has been growing slowly and steadily, but if I want to take my business to the next level, some things need to be done. I need to open stores on more websites, for instance.
I'm currently on MyMiniFactory only, and I'm pretty sure uploading my models to other places such as CGTrader, Turbosquid, Cult3D and Minihoarder would help me greatly. And doing so is super tedious, boring, and time-consuming ^^ I need the extra time to do that.
The lack of good pictures of well painted miniatures is felt most terribly, I think. I have finally picked up 3D printing, now I need to start painting them for promotion purposes. I may be a bit rusty, but I'm not too bad at it, you'll see ;)
Without such pictures, I cannot feed my Instagram. I do feel too old for this shit, but I cannot afford to make do without an Instagram anymore. I need to start making time for this as well ^^
So, yeah, that's about it. Sorry for the long post ^^ I'll start working on the Bard soon ;)
Stay tuned!
Manu
Comments (36)
Dont you worry bro I would sooner have quality prints like yours and if that takes time to complete then absolutely you take what time it needs!
Thanks again, buddy :D I really appreciate my community's understanding, patience and support! You guys are just the best!
You could just switch to a 2 monthly release schedule without pausing the pay cycle. You do a lot of quality minis for how little your tiers cost anyway. It's your patreon, you work to whatever schedule your comfortable with, those that like your stuff will stay either way.
I agree. Those that like my stuff would probably stay either way, but I'm still trying to keep as many patrons as possible. Nobody really minds me pausing the page, but producing fewer minis than planned for the same price would make a lot of people go away. Most consumers in this field are here for the value, not the quality. I can't really afford to have a price per mini much higher than what other Patreons propose, regardless of the quality. If the average is $1/mini, I gotta do that too.
I would take quality work over rushed garbage. You are awesome man. Good luck with the move.
Thanks, man, I appreciate it :D
I personally support you because your work is quality. As a commission artist, I can appreciate that it takes time to get quality and I'd rather wait for that than receive a rush job. As the idiom goes, "you can't rush perfection," and we artists strive for it. I can't expect any more from you than the amazing quality product you've been providing us, and I'll happily wait to get it. I wouldn't be here otherwise.
Thanks very much, bro :D God, I just have the best Patreon community ^^ With regards to perfection, not all artists strive for it, though. A lot would say that done is better than perfect, and I totally respect this point of view, too. In fact, I think a lot of meticulous people such as you and me would really benefit from telling themselves that every once in a while. But I just cannot release and sell stuff I'm not happy with. Never did, never will ^^ Now it's all about balance. Getting more subs with 3 or 4 minis per month would be too hard. 5 new minis per release and recycling my older models through my lower tiers (7-8 models per month, then) is much more acceptable to stay relevant in this highly competitive field. I just need to make sure everything is ready on time. And the only way to achieve that is to have the models ready and presupported long before their release dates. Reaching this point will take me a few more months, but I'll get there ;) Thanks again for your support!
Thank you so much for doing this. I've asked before to have all the sculpts available at one time to make keeping track of them easier. I appreciate that you are doing just that so much. I feel like it takes less pressure off us and hopefully you as well, as you only have one deadline to make instead of constantly updating us on progress to make sure we see the value of what we are getting.
Thanks, man! I'm trying to do what I can to make everybody's life easier. I'll definitely keep updating you guys on progress, but on models you're not getting right away. I wanna make sure my models are all made, presupported and tested long before their release dates, to take some pressure off, like you said ^^
I think one of the special things about your supporters in particular is that we, at least I, obviously love your work and want cool models, but equally and maybe more importantly want you to keep making it because we believe in your work. As far as I’m concerned, you don’t need to pause this coming month’s subscription. My support of you in not conditional on you making me a figure, it’s because I believe you and your work deserve support. I understand that not everyone will feel this way, but I am certainly not the only one who feels this way. Take the time you need, keep making amazing sculpts, and I am excited to see what you come up with next!
Thanks, man, I appreciate it very much :D I think quite a few people agree with you here, but here's the thing : The Patreon paradigm went from regular patronage and support to webstore subscription. Sure, Patreons aren't supposed to be stores, but they very much are, now. Patreons that produce 3d models for printing are about providing the highest value, at the highest quality possible, for a price as low as possible, under a 30 days cycle.. Quite the challenge indeed! And we all have very different approaches to this. I've realized making 5 models at the quality I'm aiming under 30 days is not really possible. The only way to make it work is to produce my models long before they are released, and pause the billing cycle every 3 months to even things out ^^
I really apreciate your comitment to quality. Take your time to put the tings in order as you see them fit to make you feel most comfortable. Then you'll enjoy sculpting even more and we'll enjoy you're sculpts. I'll be waiting patiently your next release.
That's very nice, man, thanks ^^!
You have my support and respect for putting quality and a grain of personal comfort ahead of trying to squeeze products through yourself. I love your minis and they deserve all the time and effort you need!
Thanks so much for the kind words, man, I appreciate it :) You guys are super understanding and I'm really lucky to have a community like this :D
I think all the comments above echo my agreement that your sanity above work. Much respect for you doing the hardest thing which is stepping up to put your needs first and being forthcoming with your patreons. Good luck on your new place! Exciting!!!
Thanks, man :D Like I said, don't wanna rush deadlines, put out poor quality work just to take the money. I would certainly not feel good about myself if I did this and would just burn myself out. I'll try to get ahead as much as possible so that the models are all here on time from here on out ;)
Take care of yourself first, we're here to support you as well as your work end of the day. Take you time you need, we'll be here waiting :)
Thank you so much for the kinds words :) You guys are the best ^^
Your well being and quality is the most important. Do what you feel is best for you, I'm sure your supporters would understand.
Thanks, buddy :D Yeah, so far people have been very understanding of this decision. I'm super happy my community is like this ^^
Ahh... finally, a creator who's got a brain and is all about the quality of their work, and not the bank balance... Good on you Manuel! There's been a few patreon's I've backed over the past year, that were constantly super late, but didn't seem to care and didn't take the advice of "just pause the patreon for a month or 2 and catch up properly ffs!" Well done for doing the right thing! and best of luck with everything too. I'll certainly be sticking around :)
Thanks, man, I appreciate it :D We're all trying to make money, of course. But it's true, I am unwilling to sacrifice quality and health. I already make enough to sustain myself. Sure it's not a whole lot of money yet, but it's enough. Pausing my page 4 months/year isn't gonna kill me ;) I'm definitely more of a long term guy ^^ How much I make in a two or three months timespan doesn't really matter. I care about how much I'll be able to make one or two years down the road. Patreon is not about sprinting, it's about endurance and being able to keep your promises on a regular basis. If you can't keep them, it's better to be honest about it, pause your page and catch up. Making 10 models every month to try and compete with the big guys like TF and AG is ridiculous. Unsustainable, especially for one-man Patreons. Those who try to do that will just end up burning themselves out.
Good decision! I'll stay for sure and patiently wait for the next model 😁 I love your work man! Et c'est important de penser à toi dans tout cela. Un déménagement c'est gros! So do we have to pause ourself or it's on your part? Still pretty new to patreon 🤷♀️
Thanks, Julie, I appreciate it ^^ No worries, nothing to do on your end. I paused the upcoming billing cycle earlier today. You just won't be charged on October 1st is all ;)
Good for you man. I'm with you 100%. ...And yes, those tortles need some time to shine. They're really incredible.
Thanks buddy, I appreciate it all very much :)
Totally get it. I haven’t gotten to pretending much of your stuff yet but I’ll boost it in the print que and snap a few shots for you. I need to do this anyway for my own store.
That's awesome, thanks a lot, man :D
Hey! I love your work, and also appreciate how open and honest you are. I'm not sure how your community is going to take postponing a release, but I just wanted to give my vote of support! I think it's great that you're taking the proper steps to do what's best for your business and yourself, release schedule be damned. Keep it up!
Thanks, buddy, I appreciate it ^^ Postponed releases are generally not a super huge problem for the community. So long as I pause the billing cycle and they don't get charged for nothing, everything should go well ;)
Do you want people to paint minis to help with promotion? I'm not an amazing painter by any means but if every little bit helps!
Pictures of prints, painted or not, shared on social media, always helps a ton. I'll take all the help I can get :D I don't really want to commission a professional painter on a regular basis before my Patreon gets bigger, though. Also, I loved painting minis in my teens and I cannot wait to start doing it on my own sculpts ^^ I believe my Instagram should be fed with stuff I did myself. But yeah, man, if you wanna share some of my stuff, please do it, it helps me a lot!
Just my two cents, regardless of the release schedule you want for yourself, but I personally would rather focus on the parts of the work I enjoy, and as such, would be willing to outsource adding models to various platforms and presupport work. Another idea is to hold painting competitions the same way other patreon do. Of course, you wouldn't have the same level of control as if you were doing it yourself. PS: love your work :)
Hey Valentin! Thanks a lot for your comment :) Outsourcing the uploading of the models to the various platforms is something I've had on my mind. It is a pretty boring task. The thing is all platforms profiles are linked to my email, paypal account, etc. and I'm not sure I'm willing to let somebody else have access to all that ^^ I appreciate the offer and I'll definitely consider it, though :) I've seen some of your support videos and you do look pretty skilled at it :) The presupport work on my models is already outsourced to another guy, though ^^' But if he becomes overwhelmed (which he might be at some point, since he's doing it for several Patreons), I'll definitely think about you :D Holding painting competitions should go hand in hand with a better release schedule. When that's taken care of, I'll be able to show pictures of prints and paintjobs of minis available through the Patreon at this point in time ;) Not much point in showing paintjobs of older models only available through the stores. But these competitions have been on my mind, that's for sure. In fact, I think I'll host one for the Tortles in October ;)